Chapter 56 Chapter 56 Explosion is Art

The contents on the white cloth made Yun Miao and the other two open their eyes wide. There were many words written in a very eloquent manner, but there was no mention of where the exit of the trap was.

: These rooms form a trap, and the items in the room are coated with a layer of insect-attracting fragrance, which will spread in the air once it comes into contact with human body temperature.

You can find this white cloth I hid, so I guess I have searched every room.

I advise everyone to find the exit as soon as possible within one stick of incense, otherwise the insect-attracting incense will soon attract a large number of ghost spiders.

After reading the letter left by the young master, the demon cultivators fell into a dead silence. At this moment, a strange rustling sound began to come from a distance.

"...How long have we been looking for it?"

"It seems like there's already a stick of incense."

"Haha. It's already this late, and you're still so fond of joking."

Some people tried to lighten the mood with a few dry laughs, but others simply couldn't laugh anymore.

The usually smiling Poison Lady sniffed her fingertips carefully with a dark face and cursed, "You damned child!"

She was not familiar with things from ancient times, and she was caught off guard!

Then she exerted force suddenly, shattered the white cloth in her hand into powder, and rushed out with everyone.

However, just as they ran back to the corridor, they saw countless ghost spiders crawling towards them quickly along the ground, walls and ceiling of the corridor in the distance!

It was the first time that Yun Miao saw so many red-named monsters rushing towards her like a tide, and her pupils shrank in shock.

Good news: These ghost spiders were intoxicated by the scent of the insect-attracting incense and now only knew to charge forward mindlessly without creating any illusions.

Bad news: Among this dense group of Qi Refining Stage red-named monsters, there are also dozens of Foundation Establishment Stage red-named monsters and four Golden Core Stage red-named monsters!

Everyone quickly retreated, but behind them was a wall, leaving them with nowhere to retreat. Poison Lady had no choice but to lead her men to block the front, buying time for Flower Embroidered Ghost to violently break through the formation.

At this moment, I can’t worry about whether it will trigger subsequent traps. I just need to escape this disaster first.

Upon hearing this, Hua Xiugui immediately summoned his fire power and swung his fist forward. With a resounding bang, the outer layer of the wall's grayish stone quickly peeled away, revealing the pure black interior with a metallic sheen.

The demon cultivators exclaimed, "Is this black gold? And it's a whole piece of top-grade black gold?"

"Who would use top-grade black gold to build a wall?"

Hua Xiugui didn't say anything, but smashed towards the walls on the other two sides with a grim expression. Then they were shocked to find that the inside of the surrounding walls was a whole piece of top-grade black gold!

Tan Xiaobai murmured, "Could it be that using top-grade black gold to build walls was also a custom from ancient times? If that's the case, then I understand why black gold is so scarce and expensive these days."

Hua Xiugui immediately turned to look at Du Niangzi: "What should we do now?"

Even if he was in his prime, he might not be able to smash such a whole piece of top-grade black gold, not to mention that his current realm was suppressed at the Jindan stage.

He could release the suppression and restore his cultivation to the Spiritual Transformation stage, but if he did so, the fragile boundary of this secret realm would be immediately ruptured by him. The secret realm would directly appear in Luohua Town.

Luohua Town is right at the foot of Xuantian Sect. If the people from Xuantian Sect sense the demonic energy and rush over to check, they will not be able to escape death.

Poison Lady understood Hua Xiugui's intentions: "I can hold him back for a stick of incense. You two should hurry and find a way out!"

She took a deep breath and exhaled a puff of poisonous smoke forward. The thick smoke that could kill people instantly quickly enveloped the ghost spiders.

However, ghost spiders are highly poisonous creatures that like to eat poisonous insects and are extremely resistant to poison. These poisonous fumes can only temporarily paralyze them and cannot cause any substantial harm to them.

Just as the ghost-back spiders in the front were paralyzed and unable to move, the ghost-back spiders behind them continued to pour in, stepping on the bodies of their own kind and charging towards the Poison Lady and others who were covered in insect-attracting fragrance.

Poison Lady also understood this principle. She shook her sleeves and released dozens of Foundation Establishment stage jade scorpions. The jade scorpions on Yun Miao and others also jumped to the ground and fearlessly faced the army of ghost-back spiders.

Yun Miao and the other two also frowned and began to look for an exit around them. Although they did not want to help this group of demon cultivators, they did not want to be eaten alive by a group of spiders even more.

Huo Xin was the most careful of the three, and she actually found some clues in the end.

"Look, some of the bricks on the ground have carvings, while others don't."

Yun Miao: "It's the same kind of pagoda flower we just saw in the painting."

"Who has left his dusty body on the top of the stone, and the pagoda suddenly rises up to touch the sky [Note 1]"

Tan Xiaobai also had some knowledge of formations, and soon his eyes lit up as he said, "I see. The way out is on these bricks engraved with pagoda flowers, but not every brick can be walked on. Follow me, and don't take the wrong path."

He looked at it carefully again and again, then stood in front of the door of the room full of portraits, indicating that the brick under his feet was the starting point.

The demon cultivators who were groping in this section of the corridor also heard this, but they just glanced at Tan Xiaobai suspiciously and started groping around again. They didn't believe that a young boy like him could find a solution to the trap so quickly.

Yun Miao and Huo Xin were the only ones present who completely believed what Tan Xiaobai said, and they followed Tan Xiaobai's instructions.

There was nothing unusual about the stepped bricks. At first glance, Tan Xiaobai looked like a naughty kid who was in a hurry but was still playing hopscotch with his friends. However, he was very confident and carefully stepped on all the bricks he had calculated in order.

When Tan Xiaobai's foot landed on the carved stone brick at the deepest part of the corridor, the huge black gold wall in front of him suddenly rumbled and moved to the left.

A dark staircase leading straight down appeared in front of everyone. The staircase was very spacious, and there seemed to be many children standing in the shadows on both sides, but in fact they were strange lanterns in the shape of boys and girls.

As the human-shaped lights automatically lit up one after another, the originally dark passage was instantly brightly lit, and a fishy smell of the sea with rich oil began to spread, making people feel as if they were face to face with a rotten whale carcass.

Tan Xiaobai couldn't help but dry heave, but this smell had a fatal attraction to those ghost spiders. They were already agitated by the insect-attracting fragrance and became even more manic, attacking more rapidly and fiercely.

As soon as the black gold wall was moved away, it slowly moved again, trying to return to its original position.

"Go!"

While calling Yun Miao and Huo Xin to run into the passage, Tan Xiaobai flipped his wrist and a yellow talisman appeared out of thin air between his fingers, which he threw out without hesitation.

Hua Xiugui and others also noticed the movement here and were rushing towards the exit quickly.

Most of the demon cultivators noticed the yellow talisman flying towards them and only used their spiritual power to protect their bodies perfunctorily. They still rushed forward without any concern, and did not think that a little ghost in the Qi Refining Stage could have the ability to hurt them.

Only Hua Xiugui and Du Niangzi immediately sensed the dangerous aura from the yellow talisman. Hua Xiugui immediately retreated and shouted, "Get out of the way!"

Boom!

The huge explosion was deafening, and the entire underground ruins shook violently, emitting a wail of being overwhelmed.

Fortunately, the black gold wall had begun to move back, blocking most of the explosions, so Yun Miao and the other two were not injured by the yellow talisman.

Even so, the three of them and the dozen or so human-shaped lanterns closest to the exit were blown away by the aftermath. They fell heavily to the ground, their bodies rolling down the steep steps.

Yun Miao subconsciously used the protective shield of the ladder to heaven to protect herself. As the shield was round, she rolled even more smoothly.

Yun Miao: ...Ugh!

Huo Xin suddenly pulled out her knife and stabbed it into the wall. Fortunately, the people who built this place had not been so cruel as to use black gold to build walls everywhere. Her knife pierced into the dark stone wall bricks, successfully stopping her from rolling down.

Then she quickly grabbed the hand of Tan Xiaobai, who was closest to her, and Yun Miao also quickly reached out and grabbed Tan Xiaobai's feet.

The three of them stopped at the same time. Tan Xiaobai, who was being pulled like a rope, cried out in pain: "Ouch, you're going to tear my bones apart!"

Yun Miao felt like her brain was about to shake. She let go of her hands and sat down weakly on the stairs: "Ouch, my old waist, my tailbone, my ridged cap..."

Huo Xin stood up with a cold face, leaning against the wall, sheathed his knife, and then...

"vomit!"

Fortunately, the three of them were protected by disciple uniforms. They just looked a little embarrassed, but they did not suffer any internal injuries from the aftermath.

Huo Xin turned his head and glanced upwards, following the pale light of the human-shaped lamp. He could clearly see that the black gold wall at the top was completely closed. None of the Poison Lady and the others followed him down.

But she still frowned and urged Yun Miao and Tan Xiaobai to continue going down and find a place to hide quickly. The group of demon cultivators had just seen the order in which they stepped on the bricks, and they would probably follow them again soon.

Tan Xiaobai waved his hands weakly, indicating that there was no need to be so anxious. This ancient trapping formation was very similar to the current Big Dipper formation, or in other words, the Big Dipper formation was most likely improved from this ancient trapping formation.

The seven rooms they just saw represent the Big Dipper: Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang.

Although they hadn't noticed anything unusual when they were inside, the black gold walls... or rather, the rooms above them, were constantly moving, and the exit locations were constantly changing. Real-time calculations were required to determine the correct orientation and sequence.

Just as the Big Dipper appears to be still, anyone who has studied astrology knows that it actually moves slightly.

So the order that Yun Miao and the other two had just followed was correct, but now it had become wrong. If Poison Lady and the others only followed the instructions, not only would they not be able to find the exit, they might even attract other traps and killing moves.

"Besides, my master gave me that yellow talisman to save my life. He said that ordinary people in the Spiritual Transformation Stage would not be their match. Those people don't look like they are all in the Spiritual Transformation Stage. They might all be dead now."

Yun Miao immediately gave a thumbs up: "Well done!"

Upon hearing this, Tan Xiaobai proudly opened the folding fan that was torn to pieces by the aftermath, and began to fan himself in a casual manner.

Huo Xin relaxed a little after hearing this and asked Tan Xiaobai how many such yellow talismans he had.

Tan Xiaobai paused fanning himself and sighed in pain, "This is the only one. My master gave it to me privately after the disciple-taking ceremony. But it's only been three months... and I used it up before it even got warm."

Huo Xin frowned and thought for a moment, then said that if that was the case, then they couldn't rest any longer. Now that they had severely damaged the group of demon cultivators, if any of them survived, they would likely kill them without a care in the world out of anger.

The longer they stayed here, the more danger they would face. They should find a way to leave the secret realm as soon as possible. Then, they should report back to the sect and bring people to kill these demonic cultivators. Only then would they be completely out of danger.

Yun Miao nodded, and first asked her master to call a mighty dragon to kill the group of demon cultivators and ghost-back spiders. Then they secretly put the demon cultivators' storage bags, the corpses of the ghost-back spiders, and the top-grade black gold into their pockets, hehehe!

Tan Xiaobai chuckled, "Those top-grade black golds are indeed tempting. If we sell them for spirit stones, it would probably be enough to buy out the entire Yun family."

But he soon began to sigh again: "This ancient ruins is definitely getting more dangerous the deeper we go. We don't know what we will encounter later. What if we can't find a way out? If only we had the Yun family's key."

Huo Xin frowned even more tightly. "We haven't seen the three bodies of the Yun family. I guess the ghost-back spiders took them away and ate them. If we want to find the secret realm key they have, we'll probably have to go to the ghost-back spider's lair."

When Tan Xiaobai recalled the overwhelming army of ghost-back spiders, he shuddered and said that it was absolutely impossible and they would definitely die.

Yun Miao hesitated and said, "If you're talking about a key, I might have one..."

Huo Xin glanced at her and said, "Give up. Your room key won't work."

Tan Xiaobai nodded seriously: "Boss, the secret realm key is not the ordinary key we talk about. It can be any shape or even anything. You'd better keep your room key, otherwise you won't be able to return home if you lose it."

Yun Miao: ...She suspected that they were insulting her, but unfortunately she had no evidence.

"I... never mind. I can't explain it to you now, but you'll know later."

Yun Miao closed his mouth speechlessly, and then the three of them walked down quickly and soon reached the bottom floor.

When they looked up, they were shocked by the scene before them and were speechless.

It was a vast, natural underground cavern, with a massive tree a hundred feet tall occupying most of the space. More accurately, it was a massive, dead tree stump, its upper portion flattened as if by some immense force, now covered by a majestic, eerie, black-gray palace.

The tree stump was so tall that Yun Miao and the other two felt like ants looking up at a mountain when they stood at its foot, and the palace supported by it was the unattainable heavenly palace.

Its raised roots are densely packed and intertwined, covering the entire ground of the cave. To tiny humans, those thick roots exposed on the ground are like high walls undulating and circling on the ground.

Yun Miao and the other two had no doubt that if it were still alive, it would definitely be able to compete in height with the towering ancient tree on the main peak. Unfortunately, it was dead.

Countless "immortals" with graceful figures stood between the tree roots, looking up at the tall palace with smiling eyes and brows, and among these human figurines there were countless lanterns in the shape of boys and girls.

Their little faces were rosy, and they held the copper lotus lamps high in their hands. Clusters of pale and cold flames automatically ignited in the rusty lotus, instantly illuminating the originally dark cave as if it were daytime.

Huo Xin murmured, "The first tomb we entered had no lights on. The human-shaped lamps inside were lit by Hua Xiugui and the others after they entered. The tombs filled with terracotta figures that we passed by were all dark, and the human-shaped lamps inside were also extinguished. There was no spontaneous combustion."

"Why did the human-shaped lamps in the passage and in this cave light up on their own? This is so strange, it's like... someone is welcoming us in."

Tan Xiaobai shrank his neck. "Could it be that the ghosts here are welcoming us in? Should we continue moving forward?"

Just as Huo Xin and Tan Xiaobai were looking ahead in uncertainty, not knowing whether to move forward or backward, a strange noise suddenly came from the side.

The two turned their heads and saw that the ground around them was covered with dust and countless large and small debris piled up as high as a hill.

Tables, chairs, benches, cabinets, screens...all kinds of furniture are available. At first glance, it looks like you've just moved into a new house.

Yun Miao looked at these miscellaneous items in distress. She guessed that the key to the secret realm should be hidden in Yun Lujia's storage bag so that he could carry it with him.

But because she later put too many miscellaneous items in the storage bag, she didn't know what was originally in the storage bag. Now she could only gather the strength of the three of them to search one by one.

Tan Xiaobai was puzzled: "Boss, what are these?"

Yun Miao: "Some scraps I picked up earlier."

Huo Xin noticed a familiar counter inside, so he walked over suspiciously and opened the counter drawer. He saw a pile of wooden signs with dish names written on them scattered in the drawer. One of the signs had the words "Honey-Glazed Roasted Whole Lamb" written on it in large letters.

Huo Xin: "...Why does this counter look so much like the one on the first floor of Yunlai Restaurant?"

Tan Xiaobai was shocked: "Boss, could it be that you stole all these from the Yunlai Restaurant?"

"I found it."

Yun Miao emphasized seriously, "I saw that no one wanted them, so I picked them up out of kindness."

Tan Xiaobai was shocked again: "Boss, are you the killer who brought wealth into the treasure house?"

"Of course not." Yun Miao swore immediately that she was a good girl with a good family background and had nothing to do with that cunning and notorious killer.

Huo Xin was suspicious: "So what happened that night?"

Yun Miao shook his head: "I promised others not to tell."

Huo Xin lowered his head and thought for a moment, then he quickly came up with an idea: "In that case, you don't have to answer, just listen to me."

She guessed that Yun Miao must have been so angry that night that he used some means to sneak into the Yunlai Restaurant, intending to steal everything inside as revenge. As a result, a killer from Zhaocai Jinbao Tower also happened to sneak into the Yunlai Restaurant at that time.

For some unknown reason, the killer did not kill Yun Miao but let her go. The two hit it off immediately, one wanted money and the other wanted life. Yun Miao looted everything in the restaurant and the killer killed everyone in the restaurant.

Tan Xiaobai angrily condemned Yun Miao. He said that the boss had secretly done such a thrilling thing that night, and had kept it secret for so long without revealing any information to them. Most importantly, he did the evil thing without him. This was too mean! He was really angry!

Yun Miao was silent for a moment, then shook her head decisively to indicate that she didn't understand what Huo Xin was talking about. In short, these tables, chairs, benches, pots and pans, clothes and shoes were picked up by her when she was strolling in the middle of the night, and had nothing to do with the Yunlai Restaurant.

Huo Xin snorted, "Although it has nothing to do with the Yunlai Restaurant, the key to the secret realm of Yunlujia is very likely hidden in it, right?"

Yun Miao nodded without any guilt: "Yes."

Although Huo Xin and Tan Xiaobai wanted to complain about how far-fetched Yun Miao's explanation was, this was not the time to dwell on it. They could only suppress their emotions and start searching for the key, whose whereabouts and shape they didn't know, in the mountain of junk.

Tan Xiaobai pinched his nose and said, "Boss, how could you even steal someone else's stinky shoes?"

Yun Miao emphasized: "I picked it up."

Huo Xin: "You even took half a can of salt. Fortunately, what Granny Hua encountered before was a mole, not a big rat like you."

Yun Miao: "I found it, so I can't waste it."

Tan Xiaobai: "Hey~ There's a dead rat and a lot of rat droppings hidden in this cabinet."

Huo Xin: "Don't be afraid, I have a packet of rat poison in this cabinet. You can use it first."

Yun Miao: "...Hey, that's enough. I'm picking up trash all over the place for our family. If you keep nagging me like this, you'll end up digging for the key in the spider's nest yourself."

Although the three of them were muttering to themselves, their hands did not slow down at all. After some effort, the most careful Huo Xin finally found a white jade magnolia flower in a wooden box, with dried blood remaining in the pistil.

Yun Miao: "Is this the key to the secret realm?"

"I'm not sure."

Huo Xin explained, "But I know that the buds of magnolia flowers can be used as medicine after being processed, and this herb is called magnolia."

Tan Xiaobai: "The woman in the painting is also called Xinyi, so it's very likely this one."

He immediately cut his palm with a dagger and let the blood drip onto it. It happened so fast that Yun Miao and Huo Xin were unable to stop him in time.

However, the blood dripped into the pistil of the white jade magnolia flower, but quickly flowed out through the gaps between the petals, without causing any changes to the white jade magnolia flower.

"My blood doesn't work. Could it be that this secret realm key can only be activated by the blood of the Yun family?"

Tan Xiaobai frowned and muttered, "No way, the couple in the portrait are both quite elegant. They don't look like they would give birth to these wretched descendants of the Yun family."

Huo Xin: "If this is truly a legacy left by our ancestors, it's impossible that the Yun family hasn't discovered this underground ruin until now, and the Demon Cult has taken the lead. The Yun family should have nothing to do with this secret realm. Perhaps some other conditions are required to activate it."

Yun Miao pondered: "Since the key is related to the woman in the portrait, then could the activation condition be related to that man?"

Tan Xiaobai immediately thought that the activation condition might be the man’s blood, but the problem was that he was a person from ancient times. Even an old monster in the Tribulation Period could not live that long. He had either ascended to heaven or died.

"Buddha flower, Buddha..."

Yun Miao took out the portrait again and compared the huge tree stump in front of him with the giant tree in the painting.

"Look, don't these two trees look alike?"

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Author's words: Yun Miao: Can the players' things be called stealing? I thought they didn't want them, so I picked them up!

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【Note 1】From "Nan Gaofeng Pagoda" by Song Dynasty poet Dong Sigao